Jigsaw (Australian band)
| Company type | Music group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Defunct | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
| Products | Country pop music |
Jigsaw was a Melbourne-based Australian country pop group active between 1968 and 1976. The ensemble featured Jon Calderwood on lead guitar, Eddie Chappell handling drums, Ron Gilbee playing rhythm guitar, and Dennis Tucker on bass. They achieved top ten hits in Australia, most notably with their renditions of "Yellow River" in 1970 and "How Do You Do" in 1972. In addition to their own work, Jigsaw functioned as the backing band for singer-songwriter Johnny Chester during the early 1970s.
History
Jigsaw was established in May 1968 by Ray Eames (lead guitar), Alan "Ollie" Fenton (drums), Ron Gilbee (rhythm guitar), and Dennis Tucker (bass). The band initially formed as a tribute act inspired by the Shadows after Gilbee and Tucker's previous group dissolved. Eames and Fenton joined the lineup, and the name "Jigsaw" was derived from a 1967 album by the Shadows.
In July 1968, under an Australian Government initiative, Jigsaw toured South Vietnam to perform for troops, sharing the stage with artists such as Johnny Chester. After this tour, they committed to supporting Chester as his backing band in Melbourne. Fenton had prior experience working with Chester in the Phantom band. Meanwhile, Jigsaw pursued their own recording projects through Ron Tudor's Fable Records. Following Fenton’s death around 1969, Eddie Chappell took over on drums, while Jon Calderwood replaced Eames as lead guitarist.
Their first single released on Fable Records was "To Love Means to Be Free" (May 1970), which reached No. 49 on the Go-Set National Top 60 chart. During the 1970 radio ban—a conflict that limited airplay of major label music—Jigsaw’s association with independent label Fable allowed their releases to avoid these restrictions.
Jigsaw’s second single was a cover of UK group Christie’s "Yellow River" (July 1970). After ten weeks, it ascended to No. 1 on the Go-Set National Top 60 by October, sharing chart recognition with other artists’ versions during the ban period.
Their work with Johnny Chester produced several charting singles including "Gwen (Congratulations)" (No. 26 in 1971) and "Shame and Scandal (in the Family)" (No. 13 in 1972). Jigsaw’s own releases included "So I Tell You" (1971), which did not enter the charts, along with covers such as "How Do You Do" (No. 11 in 1972) and "Mademoiselle Ninette" (No. 20 in 1972).
Additional collaborations resulted in singles like "Midnight Bus" (No. 25 in 1972) and Johnny Chester’s "World's Greatest Mum" (No. 9 in 1973). Jigsaw ended their formal backing role for Chester in January 1974 but occasionally joined him on tour thereafter.
The band’s last charting single was "A Rose Has to Die," which reached No. 19 on the Kent Music Report in June 1974. In 1975, they issued a compilation album titled Best of Jigsaw. The group continued performing within local venues through the mid-1970s before releasing their final single, "Every Day, Every Night," in January 1977 and disbanding soon after. Following this, Johnny Chester toured with the Blue Denim Country Band starting from 1977.
Members
- Ray Eames – lead guitar
- Alan "Ollie" Fenton a.k.a. Alan Wright – drums
- Ron Gilbee – rhythm guitar
- Dennis Tucker – bass guitar, vocals
- Eddie Chappell – drums, vocals
- Jon Calderwood – lead guitar, vocals, bass guitar, mandolin
- Barry Roy – guitar, vocals, dobro, bass guitar, banjo
Albums
| Title | Album information |
|---|---|
| Johnny Chester & Jigsaw (featuring Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) |
|
| Going Places (Just for Fun) (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) |
|
| Best of Jigsaw |
|
Extended plays
| Title | EP information |
|---|---|
| Jigsaw |
|
Singles
| Year | Single title | Highest chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Go-Set |
AUS KMR | ||
| 1970 | "To Love Means to Be Free" | 49 | 50 |
| "Yellow River" | 1 | 5 | |
| 1971 | "Albert the Albatross" | – | 62 |
| "Gwen (Congratulations)" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | 26 | 19 | |
| "So I Tell You" | – | – | |
| "Shame and Scandal (in the Family)" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | 13 | 13 | |
| 1972 | "How Do You Do" | 11 | 8 |
| "Readymix Revenge" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | – | 37 | |
| "Mademoiselle Ninette" | 20 | 18 | |
| "Midnight Bus" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | 25 | 31 | |
| 1973 | "Sing Along" | – | – |
| "Clap Your Hands" / "Marilyn Jones" | – | – | |
| "Sunday Girl" | – | 99 | |
| "World's Greatest Mum" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | 9 | 8 | |
| 1974 | "She's My Kind of Woman" (Johnny Chester and Jigsaw) | 19 | 14 |
| "A Rose Has to Die" | n/a | 19 | |
| "Light up the World" | n/a | – | |
| 1975 | "Teach Me How to Rock and Roll" | n/a | – |
| 1977 | "Every Day, Every Night" | n/a | – |